Foot exercising machine



Feb. 6, 1962 cs. HOTAS 3,020,046

FOOT EXERCISING MACHINE Filed May 18, 1959 hyv'eqfor Leon G Ho't'asAGENT FOOT EXERCISING MACHINE Leon G. Hotas, 43 Rowand St., St. James,Manitoba, Canada Filed May 18, 1959, Ser. No. 813,898 3 (Ilaims. (Cl.272-57) It is well known in physical therapy that joints becomeweakened, partly paralyzed, and often unworkable, following periods ofimmobilization due to poliomyelitis and other neurological diseases,strokes, et cetera; or a fractures, contusions, subluxations,dislocations, strains, et cetera. This may also happen from operationalprocedures, such as surgical repairs of tendons, muscle transplants, orbone fixations.

:bones associated therewith, especially the foot and ankle joints, whichhave different fulcrum points. As this ankle part of the foot hasuniversal pivoting movements, and the pivot points therethrough can onlybe approximated, great care must be used in exercising such joints, asincorrect application may easily cause dislocation or joint strains.

In view of the above, and as a Word cannot be found, or located, whichcombines both the foot and the ankle, it will be understood in thefollowing disclosure, including the claims, that the word foot shall beinterpreted to include the ankle as well as the foot portion of a leg.

The principal object of .the present invention is to design a machine towhich a foot can be secured for true joint motion exercises, such asdor'si and plantar flexion (backward and forward pivot), together withinversion and eversion (inward and outward pivot), and so pro-' vide thehabit-forming coordination so necessary for health, withoutsub-luxation, dislocation or any other undesirable joint maladjustment.

A further object of the invention is to design the maatent A furtherobject of the invention is to provide means for varying the amount oftraction or pressureso used.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for using thevarious pivoting motions, either isolated or in any combination.

A further object of the invention is to provide means for restrictingthe swing ofsaid pivoting movements to a safe range in accordance withthe condition of the patient, to permit resting of tired muscles duringthe FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the machine.

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged central longitudinal section therethrough.

1 FIGURE 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3, FIGURE 2.

, FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of one of the washershaped weights used onthe exerciser.

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate correspondingparts in the several figures.

A rectangulanshaped base frame 10 is shown in FIG URE 1. This frame. istubular with rounded corners 11, at which suitable short rubber-coveredlegs 12 downwardly project to prevent floor marring. Inverted U- ,shapedtubular standards 13 extend upwardly and contrally from this base frame,one on each side thereof, their upper ends being rounded to providequadrants l4 and-15 while a short tubing 16 crosses the bottom of eachquadrant to support centrally inwardly projecting ball bearingsl7,central of said quadrants.

A rectangular-shaped tubular sub-frame 18 also has rounded corners andis positioned between the quadrants, the rear part of the sides 19 and20 thereof being provided with outwardly facing trunnions 21 whichreceive the ball bearings 17 forsmooth'and quiet pivoting of saidsub-frame. It will be noted that the sides 19 and 20 are of a hump-shapewith the trunnions at the peak, while the front and rear cross ends 22and 23 respectively of the sub-frame are straight. These straight endsare centrally provided with further outwardly facing trunnions 24 whichaccordingly, are somewhat lower than those 21 at the humps. The hump onthe side 19 supports an upwardly projecting pointer 25 which overliesthe quadrant 15. A detent pin 26 passes through a hole in this pointerand then through one of a series of spaced holes 27 around the quadrantto lock the sub-frame against rotation on the bearings 17. Obviously, bytaking out this detent pin and separately inserting it into ings 28, thecradle can swing from side to side in suspension below the sub-frame. Itwill be noted that the front end of the cradle is lower than the rear.end,, and said :front end also extends up past its bearing point in afurther pointer 30, which then projects rearwardly over a tubularquadrant 31 carried by the central front end of the sub-frame 18., Afurther detent pin 32 passes through a hole in this latter pointer andinto one of a series of spaced holes 33 around this latter quadrant tolock or restrict the movement of the cradle on the ball bearings 28 inthe same manner as described for the sub- 7 frame movements in relationto the quadrant 15.v It will also be noted that the cradle can turn withthe sub-frame on the ball bearings 17 when same is released the --detentpin 26. v

A lengthwise plate 34, having rounded ends 35. is suitably secured onthe swingable bar of the cradle 29. The rear rounded end of this plateis boundedby a thin wall 36 and so form a' shoe 37 for reception of ahuman foot (not shown). Straps and buckles 38 and 39 respectivelyPatented Fens, tees in relation to the sub-frame, due to the slopingcradle bar, and is below both pivot points of the bearings 17 and 28.

Each end of the cradle 29 is welded to arms 40 and 41. The ends of thefront arm 40 extend outwardly on either side at slight forward angles toclear the sub-frame, while the ends of the rear arm 41 extend outwardlyand rearwarrlly at acute angles. The extremities of the arms are eachprovided with a flat horizontal disk 42 from each of which a centralstub 43 extends upwardly. The front and rear stubs 43 are approximatelythe same distance from the central standards 13 and accordingly thecentre of the base frame 10. A washer-shaped weight 44, having a centralhole 45, is shown in FIGURE 4. A number of these weights will beprovided and may run from say, one and a half to five pounds each. Theyare adapted to be received over the stubs 43 for traction orresistanceto the said foot, as will be later explained.

In operation, the foot exercising machine is placed adjacent a smalltable (not shown) on which the patient will sit during the footexercise. There will be a small foot stool (not shown) for the patientto step on to attain this sitting position. The stool will also beuseful to support the operator when applying the exercises, or makinginspections of the foot. When the patient is so positioned on the table,the foot to be exercised (not shown) is placed in the shoe 37 and thestraps applied.

It has been previously mentioned, there are many intricate bones in ahuman foot. Certain of these bones are used for dorsi and plantarflexion (backward and forward pivot of the foot). As it is difficult toexactly determine these bones for the purpose of the claims, it will beunderstcod that the words ankle joint, in the claims, will refer to thebones permitting the above flexions, the words foot joint will refer tothe bones permitting inversion and eversion (inward and outward pivot ofthe foot), while rotor joint will refer to either.

The ankle joint of the foot will be aligned with and between the ballbearings 17 as this is the upper joint of the foot. The foot joint,below the ankle joint, is at a slight forward upward slope, when thefoot is on the ground, will be aligned with and between the ballbearings 28. Accordingly, when the detent pins 26 and 32 are removed,the shoe 37 can be pivoted by hand operation of the arms 40 and 41 tocorrectly guide and exercise the foot at these important joints, and ina universal movement if desired. By locking either one of the pointerswith a detent pin, a single joint exercise can be given on the otherpivot bearings. By placing one or more detent pins in separate quadrantholes, the range of that particular pivot can be restricted to a safeturning angle of the foot, depending on its condition. By applyingweights to the correct stubs 43, steady traction can be applied to thefoot muscles for dorsi and plantar fiexion or inversion and eversion,and this traction can be quickly released by hand pressure from theoperator. Or, by applying the weights and separately inserting one ormore detent pins in the correct quadrant holes, the patient can exertpersonal foot pressure against the weights, either steady or in back andforth pivoting movements, and when tired, can let the shoe come back,under the action of the weight, for the detent pins to take the strain,and let the foot rest.

In other words; by intelligent application, as above described, trueguided joint motion exercisescan be given the patient for habit-formingcoordination of the various bone structures, tissues and joint muscles,without fear of maladjustment while the traction, or foot effort againstweight pressures, quickly develops the musculature in a mostsatisfactory manner. In a very short time, the patient has full controland is able to operate the foot in universal pivots, without help.

It might also be mentioned that a further advantage of this machine isthat a protractor could easily be applied to the quadrants to registerthe amount of foot pivot the patient is capable oftaking, as theexercises proceed.

Prior to this invention such information was not obtainable and would bevery useful to the operator in assessing the progress of the patient.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A foot exercising machine, comprising: a pair of spaced standards; apair of aligned bearings, each carried by one of said standards; a framepositioned between said standards, and pivotally side carried by saidbearings; a further pair of aligned bearings, same being carried by saidframe, one at each end thereof; a U-shaped cradle suspended below and ata downwardly sloping angle to said frame, with the ends thereofpivotally carried by said second mentioned bearings; a shoe mounted onsaid cradle; means on said shoe for receiving and retaining a human footthereto, with the ankle joint thereof aligned with said first mentionedbearings, and the foot joint thereof aligned with said second mentionedbearings, for correct shoe-guided swinging movement of said foot on saidjoints, when operated; arms supported by said frame and extending fromthe corners thereof; and means on said arm ends for selectively applyingweight to each.

2. A foot exercising machine, comprising: a pair of spaced standards; apair of aligned bearings, each carried by one of said standards; a framepositioned between said standards, and pivotally side carried by saidbearings; a further pair of aligned bearings below said first mentionedbearings, when horizontal, same being carried by said frame, one at eachend thereof; a U- shaped cradle pivotally suspended lengthwise belowsaid frame, and from the end bearings thereof; a quadrant supported byone or said standards, and centered around the bearing thereon; a secondquadrant supported at one end of said frame, and centered around thebearing at said end; a shoe mounted lengthwise on said cradle forreleasably securing a human foot thereto, with the ankle joint thereofaligned with said first mentioned bearings, and the foot joint thereofaligned with said second mentioned bearings, for correct shoe-guidedswinging of said foot on said joints, when operated; means associatedwith each of said quadrants for restricting the pivoting movement ofsaid cradle on said bearings; arm means supported by said frame andextending from each of the corners thereof, to terminate in upwardlyprojecting stubs; and means for selectively applying removable weight tosaid stubs.

3. A foot exercising machine, comprising: a base frame; a pair of spacedstandards, each extending upwardly from one of the sides of said baseframe; a pair of aligned bearings, each carried by one of saidstandards; a sub-frame positioned between said standards and with thesides thereof pivotally carried by said bear ings; a secondary pair ofaligned bearings below said first mentioned bearings, when horizontal,and each positioned at one end of said sub-frame; a U-shaped cradle barpivotally suspended lengthwise below and from said latter mentionedbearings; a shoe mounted on said cradle bar; strap means for releasablyretaining a human foot in said shoe, with the ankle joint thereofaligned with said first mentioned bearings, and the foot joint thereofaligned with said second mentioned bearings, for correct shoe-guidedswinging of said foot on said joints, when operated; a quadrantsupported by one of said standards and centered around the bearingthereon; a pointer carried by said sub-frame and operable over saidquadrant in the pivoting movement of said frame on said first mentionedbearings; a second quadrant mounted on one end of said sub-frame andcentered around the hearing at said end; a second pointer carried bysaid cradle bar, and operable over said second quadrant, in the pivotingof said cradle bar on said second mentioned bearings; said quadrantseach provided with spaced holes there through therearound; the operableends of said pointers each provided with a hole, register-able with theholes in their respective quadrants, in the movements of said 5 pointersthereover; detent means for reception in said holes to restrict thepivoting movements of said cradle bar on said bearings; a pair of arms,each supported across one end of said sub-frame, with the ends of sameeach projecting from a corner thereof; and weight means 5 for removablereception on each of said arm ends.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Ruggles June 8, Thompson Sept. 23, Svensson Nov.1, Leuchter Dec. 6,

